


And All We Have Is Each Other

by raggirare



Category: Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-02
Updated: 2011-09-02
Packaged: 2017-10-23 08:30:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/248281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raggirare/pseuds/raggirare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sid and Joe, from the day they meet to the day they escape.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And All We Have Is Each Other

**Author's Note:**

  * For [butyoumight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/butyoumight/gifts).



His heart was in his mouth, beating a mile a minute, feeling like he was about to puke it into the mess of the crumbled building he was hiding in. He could hear the rushed footsteps of the soldiers that he was running from. His hand tightened on the hilt of the sword in his hand, trying to pretend that he didn’t know whose blood was on the blade, that he didn’t remember just whose hand he had had to pry the weapon from.

He swallowed hard. His entire body was shaking, exhausted, ready to collapse. But he couldn’t stop. He had to go soon, the footmen were too close. He didn’t have to guess what would happen. He was just a kid but he didn’t think that would secure him any special treatment.

A shout. He froze up for a moment before his feet kicked into motion. He ran, adrenaline fueling him and keeping him going. He stopped only to check the coast was clear. He wanted to avoid a fight as long as possible, didn’t want to risk unnecessary injuries. But a fight didn’t come his way. The closest he got was spotting the faint outline of one of the soldiers in a cloud of dust, heading away from him. He hadn’t seen any of the soldiers properly, just their silhouettes against the light or glimpses of them when he glanced around corners.

After a while, he stopped running. The city was razed; the shouts and sounds of battle had stopped. Crouching behind a half knocked down wall, he held his breath and listened. Nothing. Nothing beyond the pounding of his heart. He relaxed a little.

Then tensed up again almost immediately as a sound broke the silence. It was close. Soft and quiet, but close. He heard it again and carefully, cautiously, moved out of his hiding spot. He followed the sound as it got more and more regular until he found the source, curled up in a small ball in a corner in another part of the destroyed building.

The sword dropped from his hand and he ignored the clatter it made on the concrete.

“Hey,” he crouched down in front of the curled up child and reached a hand out to his shoulder. “Are you okay?” His hand pulled away a moment when the child flinched away at the touch before trying again. “It’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you. They’re gone now. It’s okay.”

Slowly, perhaps reluctantly, the child lifted his head. He’d been crying, was still crying. He just stared at him for a moment then flung himself at the older boy and clung to him.

Carefully, he wrapped his arms around him and rubbed his back, softly hushing him as he felt his shirt start to dampen with tears. “There, there… it’s all over now. We’re okay.” He shifted his hand to softly pet the child’s head. “Do you have a name?”

Whatever the initial reply was, it was lost into a muffled sob against his shoulder. The little boy pulled his head back just enough for him to catch a mumbled, “Joe.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Joe,” He gave the boy a squeeze and managed a weak smile. “My name’s Sid.”

\--

Sid had no idea how he was going to look after a kid in these conditions, but it wasn’t like he had much choice. There was no way he could just abandon such a young child when he had no idea if any one else in the city was still alive. He’d just have to find a way to keep them both going.

First step was finding a place to live for at least a little while. He didn’t want to stay in the city any longer than he had to, for his sake as well as Joe’s. There was too much death and destruction everywhere. Too much for such a young child. So he headed away from the city and towards the mountains to the south. There were forests lining the mountainsides and hidden in those forests a hut that his father had built for him. The forests had been public access so the people were free to do as they pleased in them, as long as the protected wildlife remained unharmed and no trees were felled without permission, so he was pretty sure his wasn’t the only hut, either.

Normally it didn’t take very long to reach it, but with the added weight of a backpack of non-perishable food he had managed to pilfer from the remains of a corner store, his father’s sword on his hip and the child in his arms when he got tired from so much walking, the trek took much longer than normal.

It was a relief to finally reach their destination. The hut wasn’t anything fancy. A small, one-room, wooden building. There was a mattress inside, a pile of blankets, and a low, small table with a few books stacked on top. Joe was asleep when they arrived, so Sid immediately put him onto the mattress and lay a blanket over him before putting everything else down then settled down on the mattress himself.

He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

\--

“Sid-senpai! Look what I caught!” Joe grinned wide as he held up the string of fish he had caught as he approached the makeshift campsite they had set up for the night. Sid had already gotten a fire started on the ground, even though the light had barely begun to fade.

“Good job, Joe.” He stood from where he’d been crouched by the fire and pulled a knife from its sheath on his belt. “Gut them and we’ll get them on to cook now before the Mawas start hunting.”

Joe nodded and took the knife before setting to work. He watched as Sid began to scale the tree they had their camp set up in before he slid into the sling-bed set up between two sturdy branches. “Are you sleeping, Sid-senpai?” he asked with a laugh, dropping the guts of the first fish into a small container to take back down to the stream to draw predators away from their campsite.

Sid laughed in return and stuck his head over the edge of the sling. “I wasn’t going to but that sounds like a good idea.” He grinned before grabbing one of the bags tied and hanging from one of the branches and pulled it open, grabbing out a drink bottle.

“Do that and I’m eating your share.” Joe called back up, finishing gutting the last of the four fish before skewering them onto the sticks that Sid had already collected and sharpened for that purpose. He carefully arranged them around the fire so they were all standing. “Fish are on. I’m going to dump these.”

After Sid’s acknowledgement, he stood and picked up the bowl of entrails and began to walk towards the nearby river. They were in a sparser area of forest than they had been when they had first come out into the wild five years ago, heading across the continent towards a main city of the planet. They had heard word of the empire recruiting there when they had passed through a small village during the last winter and they had decided to aim for that.

Dumping the fish guts into the water and washing the container clean, Joe watched the blood dilute and the physical organs float with the current, his head tilted to one side.

Five years. It was a long time to be traveling and living as a nomad. It was all he could remember, really. He knew how they’d come to be travelers, but he couldn’t remember it himself. He had been only seven at the time, when Sid had saved him and taken it upon himself to look after him and raise him, teaching him the art of the sword the same way Sid’s father had taught him so that he had a way to protect himself if the Mawas or the Sarpes decided they would make a tasty meal.

Joe shook his head at himself and ran a hand through his hair. It had grown so long, and he just could bring himself to cut it, no matter how many times Sid offered. He rather liked it like this. He continued to play with his hair as he began to walk back towards the fire, following the smell of cooking fish.

“Thought you fell in the river and drowned,” Sid said with a laugh when his friend finally came back into sight. He was already picking at one of the cooked fish, sitting with his legs folded by the fire. “It’s perfectly cooked so you might wanna start eating now or I’ll eat it for you.”

Dinner passed the same way it normally did, in relative silence. They were used to that. The silence was never awkward between them, had never once been awkward in all the time they’d spent together, and sometimes it was relaxing being able to just sit down and enjoy each other’s company, especially on the days where Sid’s mood would slip and the stress of looking after someone six years younger than him for so long after such a stressful event would become apparent. They usually sparred when that happened, or, if it was during the night when they were asleep in their sling-bed high off the ground or sharing a bad at an inn in a village they’d stumbled across, he’d hug him like he remembered his own mother hugging him whenever he got upset or angry. Usually it worked, and they’d fall asleep holding onto each other until the sun began to rise.

When they had finished eating, Joe took the skeletons and the stick skewers to the river and threw them in before returning to the camp with a container full of water to douse the fire. Cleaning up the ground beneath their camp, he followed Sid up the tree, helping check that everything was secure before sliding onto the sling-bed and wrapping a blanket around them both just as the last of the light began to fade.

“Night, Sid-senpai.”

“G’night, Joe.”

\--

It was odd walking the streets without a bag on his back. Or walking anywhere without their campsite within view for that matter. For most of his life, he’d always had it there, even when their travels had them staying in small inns overnight. Tonight was different, though. They had sold some of the things they no longer needed or had found along the way and gotten themselves enough money to get themselves a hotel room for a couple of nights, meaning they could leave their bags in their room and wander around without the extra weight.

Joe couldn’t remember ever being in one of the major cities of this planet. Sid had told him that they had once lived in one before they started traveling, but the younger boy had no memory of it. He wanted to ask his friend about it, but a glance at Sid’s expression made him pause.

Sid was remembering that day. Joe knew that expression. It was distant and wistful and made the older swordsman’s eyes moist.

He didn’t try and shake his friend from his thoughts. They were standing on a sidewalk, leaning back against a building and looking out over a large public square. It was such a change from the little, traditional villages that Joe had gotten used to seeing. It was as though they had stepped through a portal and teleported to a completely different planet. The sky was littered with large ships, most of them just floating, anchored, while others were coming into land at a large port on the opposite side of the square or taking off and disappearing into space.

“The Zangyack empire.” Joe jumped and looked to his side, the side Sid wasn’t standing on. The boy he was looking at couldn’t have been any older than him, his eyes slightly obscured by a mop of blond curls and the green jacket he was wearing made Joe feel underdressed in the cool weather wearing just a short-sleeved shirt.

He looked up to where the other boy was looking. “All those ships are the empire’s?” he asked.

The blond boy nodded. “Most of them, yeah,” he said, pointing to a nearby ship. “Most of them look like that, but there are a couple other models. And then you have the motherships, but they don’t have one of those here. Just the base ship.”

Joe dropped his gaze again. “Base ship?”

“Yeah. It’s what the new recruits get put on to do training and stuff.”

“Which one is the base ship?” Joe glanced to his other side and raised an eyebrow. Sid had pulled himself out of his memories and gave both the younger boys a glance before looking up at the small armada overhead. “It’s up there, isn’t it?”

The blond boy nodded and gave them both a suspicious glance. “…You two are signing up, aren’t you?” His lips turned down in a slightly disappointed frown before he lifted his hand. “It’s up there. The one shaped like a disc. It’s basically a floating island.”

Joe eyed the boy’s expression but didn’t say anything as Sid thanked him for the information. Everywhere they’d been, they got congratulations and well wishes whenever it got out they were planning on joining the empire, and yet here was this boy, the same age as him, looking almost angry that they were considering such a thing.

“Name’s Sid, by the way,” the older boy added with a wide smile and held out a hand. “You planning on enlisting as well?”

The blond was hesitant but he eventually took the larger hand and shook it. “Don,” he introduced himself before shaking his head. “Fighting’s… uh… not really my thing. I’m more of a technology person.”

“Joe,” the younger swordsman added, his arms folded across his chest. “It’s not like it’s all fighting, though. Someone needs to fly the ship.”

“Everyone has to know how to fight, though. Otherwise you’re worthless to them and they’ll… get rid of you.” Don freed his hand from Sid’s, the frown still on his face. “A-Anyway… I better go. I was meant to be… uh… picking something up for mama. Good luck.”

Joe and Sid watched as the blond turned and took off at a run, Joe’s head tilted to one side in thought.

“Well, wasn’t he helpful?” Sid said with a smile and a laugh. “Come on, Joe. Let’s go find where we can sign up.”

\--

“…Wait, how old are you again?”

Joe’s lips pulled in a tight line. “Twelve,” he answered sharply, his arms folded across his chest as he barely managed to stop himself from glaring at the officer seated at the recruitment desk in front of him. The officer looked normal enough, apart from the uniform, but it was the soldiers around the recruitment office that made Joe uncomfortable.

Sid didn’t seem to notice them or be fazed by them at all, just signing the last of the paperwork. He was signing it as Joe’s older half-brother, claiming they were from different fathers so they could keep their own last names for convenience. He knew it was surnames that were used in the military and one of them having to get used to hearing for another name had the potential to cause problems. That, and the officer had already explained that families were more likely to stay together. If they fell into the same rank.

It wasn’t like it was a complete lie, either. They pretty much were brothers after what they’d spent years going through together. Joe knew that, if it weren’t for Sid, he’d have died a long, long time ago.

“Alright,” the officer stacked up all their paperwork into two piles, one for each boy, and stapled them together. “Your trial run will be tomorrow evening after the sun begins to set. I suggest you arrive here well before that.”

“Trial… run?” Joe raised an eyebrow in confusion.

The officer just nodded and didn’t elaborate any further. Joe looked to his friend and Sid just shrugged. The officer dismissed them and they headed for the exit of the building, Joe keeping glued to Sid’s side to keep as far away from those weird looking foot soldiers as possible.

\--

It was different, fighting like this. The only fighting he’d ever done was one-on-one sparring with Sid during their lessons teaching Joe how to fight, and that one time where he and Sid had taken on a Mawa that had decided to come into their campsite and just wouldn’t leave.

Now, though, his back was pressed against his friend’s and they were surrounded.

The first trial was a free-for-all. All the recruits that had signed up had been taken into a large arena filled with obstacles and told to fight for their lives against not only each other, but also the foot soldiers that had been put in the arena as well. They were to fight until the timer ran out, and only the recruits still up and fighting at that point would progress to the next trial and the ones who had lost would be denied entrance into the army.

They were only halfway through the time, and Joe could count on both hands how many recruits were still standing of the hundred or so who had started the trial. They were strewn all over the arena floor, some still conscious but not enough to fight, others still and unmoving and it took all of Joe’s willpower to not think the worst, especially when he was staring at one of the foot soldiers directly in front of him.

“Relax, Joe.” The back pressed up against his vibrated. The feeling wasn’t familiar, but it was comforting enough for him to relax at least a little. “Don’t let yourself get distracted. Block out everything else. Forget about the other recruits. They aren’t important right now. Just relax, concentrate and wait for them to make the first move.”

Joe took a deep breath in and then slowly let it out before giving a nod. His grip tightened on the hilts of both the swords in his hands. He closed his eyes for a moment then snapped them open again when he felt the back pressed against his move.

\--

It occurred to Joe, where he was sitting on a bench, looking down into the arena from the stands surrounding it, that he loved to watch Sid fight. He hadn’t really noticed it during the first trial, since he had been more worried about staying alive and conscious, or any of his sparring sessions with Sid over the years, because he had been more concerned with learning. But sitting here, watching him almost dance around the sugormin that he had been ordered to fight against, Joe couldn’t help but think him the most beautiful thing in the world.

The way his feet slid on the floor, the way he effortless avoided any attack from the enemy, the way his face stayed serious and calm yet still held that same determination in his eyes that Joe had gotten used to seeing every day for as long as he could remember.

Joe wasn’t surprised when it didn’t take even ten minutes before the soldier was on the ground and unmoving and Sid was standing over the sugormin. He looked up to the recruiting officer sitting near Joe and gave a wide smile at the officer’s nod. Joe returned the smile when it was directed at him, paired with a thumb’s up.

“Alright. Gibken. You’re next.” The officer barked and looked straight at him.

Joe just nodded in understanding and stood from his seat. He made his way alongside the railing towards the steps leading down into the arena that his friend was already walking up. They paused halfway, their fingers brushing as they flashed each other a smile, wordless congratulations and good lucks, before Joe continued down and drew his swords, sharp eyes locked on his opponent.

He looked around the arena. Just an hour before, it had been full of obstacles and fallen bodies from the first trial. Now, it was just a giant, open arena, the only occupants being himself and the sugormin opposite him, Sid’s unconscious opponent having already been dragged out.

He spun his swords in his hands and dropped into a low stance at the officer’s shout to start, one sword out in front of him and the other at his side behind him.

“Careful, Joe.” He listened to Sid calling down to him from the stands but resisted the urge to look at him. “They’re not me.” Joe just nodded to show he had heard. He was lucky in the fact that he’d already gotten to see these soldiers fighting before, in the battles that the recruits before him had already fought.

So when the surgormin lifted his arms and pointed them in Joe’s direction, the boy knew exactly what was coming and dove forward. He did a roll over the ground and stood up from it, slicing into the sugormin’s side on his way up, not quite catching the weak spot he had already spotted. The other sword followed the momentum through and spun back, the blade catching into the armor on the sugormin’s arm.

Joe’s foot lifted up and kicked into the sugormin’s side, freeing his sword and slicing just beneath the armour in the same movement. His opponent gave a howl of pain and Joe had to dive to one side to avoid getting shot. The battle quickly turned into Joe diving and rolling out of the way of shots, slowly getting frustrated with himself at the fact that he’d let himself be pushed far enough way that the sugormin was well out of swords-reach.

He returned one of his swords to its sheath on his hip before diving to the side again to avoid another shot. He held his still-drawn sword in front of him before avoiding another shot and charging towards the sugormin. One shot grazed his arm but he gritted his teeth through it, instead brandishing his sword and bringing it down onto his opponents shoulder.

Only to have it blocked by the surgormin’s arm which was then used to send him flying back to the edge of the arena. A pained noise escaped Joe’s throat as his head smacked against the stonewall surrounding the arena. He coughed, winded, gasping for breath. His hands were empty, his sword somewhere out of reach, and his vision was a little blurry but he could still make out the blue figure of the sugormin moving closer towards him.

“Joe!” The voice was distant and Joe was pretty sure he was hearing things. Even if the voice kept going on and on. “Joe, you have to get up! Move. These things aren’t any worse than that Mawa from a couple of months ago. So long as you get the hell up and get up now!”

Joe let his head fall back and he stared straight up. It was a long way up. At least it felt it with his vision still blurred. But he could make out a face, or at least the shape of a head.

“ _JOE!_ ”

He moved just in time, diving to the side seconds before the wall where he had just been sitting exploded. He grabbed the sword he had dropped and drew his second sword before running around the edge of the arena to get some distance between himself and his opponent again. He blinked his eyes a few time, the blurriness fading slowly.

“Concentrate, Joe.” The boy’s eyes flicked up to his friend in the stands for a moment, just long enough to take in the frowns and sneers of the other recruits and the intrigued look on the officer’s face as all attention (save that of Joe’s opponent) turned to Joe. “Just treat it like that Mawa. Except with guns instead of a whiptail. Those arms are just like its paws. Once you get rid of those, you’ll get the advantage. You know where the weak points are. I know you do. Now use them!”

Joe only half registered what Sid was yelling at him, having had to switch his attention to the sugormin that had started advancing on him and attacking him again, but he registered enough to get a good idea of what he was being told to do. He dodged another laser shot and concentrated on deep breathing for as long as he could between attacks. He concentrated on examining the armour his enemy was wearing, searching it for as many weak points as possible.

When he found them, his grip on the swords in his hands tightened and he lunged forward.

\--

Metal clashed against metal and shouts and roars echoed down from the stands as the battle waged in the arena below.

There were four, now. Ten had survived the first trial and earned a place in the general army, and four of those, who had defeated the sugormin in the second trial, had been given the opportunity to earn a place in the Imperial Special Forces. The only catch was that they had to fight each other in front of a crowd to prove they had what it took. They didn’t have to win, but it helped.

Joe squinted his eyes just slightly in concentration, his hold on his swords tightening, refusing to let the sword he had caught and trapped with his own go. His eyes weren’t on the blades, though, instead locked with his opponent’s. The face looking back at him was just as calm and concentrating but the eyes were almost smiling, and it took all his willpower to not smile back.

Eventually, Sid let up on the power battle and leapt back, landing on top of one of the ramp-like obstacles that had been placed into the arena. The entire arena was littered with them, large stones, walls, ramps, boxes and even a couple of holes, all with the intent on making the battle more interesting than just one-on-one without any outside influence.

Joe shook out his arms and adjusted his grips on the hilts of his weapons, not moving from his spot, always watching Sid. It was familiar, this time, unlike the previous two trials he’d had to face within the last four hours, and it was that familiarity that gave him the energy to keep going. It was just like sparring with Sid back in the forests all those times, except without the trees overhead or the natural wind blowing through his hair or the ability to collapse into the grass or Joe into Sid’s arms when they were worn out.

But they couldn’t do that here. Not with the trial still going. Not with the huge audience of gormin and sugormin and officers and a handful of commanders who had been on base and been called down for the battle that promised to be good. And it had yet to disappoint. They’d been going for almost twenty minutes now, and, despite the fact that they’d already had two intensive fights each, neither seemed at all tired.

“This is awesome, don’t you think, Joe?” Sid laughed and straightened where he had landed crouched on the ramp. He shook his arms out, loosening his shoulders.

Joe raised an eyebrow at his friend and took the momentary ceasefire as an opportunity to check his arm where a shot from the sugormin he’d fought earlier had graze his upper arm. It stung a little, but he ignored it for the most part. He could still hold onto his sword and that was all that mattered.

“It’ll be our longest battle, huh?” Joe smirked at him, his hair falling around him. Sid had managed to cut the tie holding his hair back during their first round of the battle within the first few minutes. “And with such an audience to impress as well.” The smirk widened and the boy spun one of his swords. “Shall we?”

Sid didn’t even bother to reply. He just smirked and leapt from his vantage point, bringing his sword down from above. Joe lifted a sword to block and catch it, using his other to swipe out at Sid and force the older boy to leap back. Joe continued to drive him back, making good use of both of his swords to force Sid to take the defensive and stay there, forcing his friend to rely on his footwork as well as his sword to be able to avoid both blades.

He caught Joe off guard, though, when he managed to deflect one blade and caught Joe’s other wrist to save himself from the other. The smirk was still on Sid’s lips as he lifted a leg and pushed his friend away from him with a firm push from his boot to the center of his chest.

It was enough to turn the battle in Sid’s favour, driving Joe away until the younger boy’s back hit a solid surface and he couldn’t move back any further. His swords were crossed in front of him, again, Sid’s blade trapped in the top, threatening to come down on his shoulder.   
Slowly, Joe began to lower himself to his knee, keeping the swords in the exact same place to keep Sid’s above his head. In one swift movement, he lowered one sword and swung out at Sid’s legs. When his friend jumped back, Joe took the opportunity to jump up and over the wall he had been pressed up against.

Joe frowned, though, when his advantage didn’t play out and found himself stuck in another pattern of shifting back and left and right when Sid jumped over the wall a second after him. He knew the wall of the arena was only a few feet behind him, so he chose to turn and run, jumping from one of the larger rocks, up a ramp and onto the top of a crumbling stone wall. Sid kept close behind him and followed him, and kept following him when Joe jumped from the wall and lead them back to the center of the arena. It was more open there, and there were fewer walls for Joe to get cornered against.

Once he reached it, Joe turned back around and switched to the offensive, challenging Sid head on. The crowd watching them grew even louder, but both fighters ignored them, too focused on their battle.

They had never had a real winner in their spars. In the beginning, Joe would always end up conceding because he was still learning and younger and weaker. Even in more recent spars, either Joe would concede because he knew he didn’t know enough or they would call it a draw because they weren’t being serious enough to call it truly competitive. Now, though, was a decisive battle. A crucial moment for them to prove just what they could do and how far they could still go and that they would be an asset to the special forces. Which meant they were pulling out almost all the stops.

They had agreed before the fight had officially started that it was okay to injure each other, but nothing fatal and definitely no killing each other. They had come too far together to let something like that happen, and it seemed counterproductive to be accepted into the Imperial army and then just end up getting killed less than two hours after being accepted over an invitation.

“You’re not concentrating, Joe.” Joe would never stop being amazed at the way Sid could continue to fight the way he did with that sheer look of concentration on his face and still talk in that kind, soft voice that he used whenever he was trying to help Joe in any way. “You’re never, ever going to beat me, until you learn to properly concentrate.”

As if to prove his point, Sid deflected Joe’s sword and disarmed him in the same movement, sending one sword flying a few feet away and the other to the ground by their feet, then held the edge of his sword to Joe’s neck. The crowd erupted in excitement, but soon died in confusion when Sid just stepped back.

“Pick them up,” he ordered, his voice strong and confident. “Concentrate, Joe! And don’t hold back!”

Joe didn’t even bother to acknowledge Sid’s word. He just crouched down and grabbed the sword from beside his feet before lunging. He fought with just the one sword until the duel moved closer to his second blade. He blocked an attack to his arm, then ducked and rolled to grab it, stopping on his knees just in time to block an overhead attack.

Neither Sid nor Joe knew how long they were fighting for. All they knew was the sound of their blades clashing and sharp pains whenever they received another flesh wound and their hearts pounding in their heads with adrenaline and excitement.

Even when the battle finally reached its climax with Joe collapsed on his back, his swords far out of reach, and Sid’s boot on his chest. The tip of his sword was held against the skin of Joe’s throat and neither boy moved save the heaving of their chests until the officer declared the battle over and Sid the winner.

Sid switched his sword to his other hand and leaned down, offering his now free hand and pulling his friend to his feet. Despite being exhausted and feeling like he was about to collapse and hurting all over, he wore a wide grin. He patted Joe on the back and slung one of his friend’s arms over his shoulder to help keep him up. About halfway through, he’d managed to cut the back of Joe’s leg and he was pretty sure it was only adrenaline that had been keeping him going.

With the crowd still cheering around them, Sid paused to pick up their swords before helping Joe up the steps out of the arena and towards the officer. The other eight recruits who had made it into at least the main army congratulated them as they went, all expressing comments of awe at their fight.

“I don’t even need to stop and think about my decision for you two,” the recruitment officer stood in front of them, a hand extended which they both shook. “That was one of the longest battles we’ve ever had on the recruitment trials. Three hours, seventeen minutes and thirty-two seconds.” He sat them both down before turning his attention to the rest of the arena, holding his hand up in a wordless call for silence. A few seconds was all it took for the arena to become so quiet it felt empty. “The recruitment trials are over. I am proud to announce that there will be three new additions to the ISF. Mark Couller.”

The recruit sitting beside Joe stood up, adjusting the crossbow hung against his back. Knives hung from his belt, and Joe couldn’t help but glance down at the heavy boots that he now knew had hidden blades inside of.

“Joe Gibken.”

Joe slowly got to his feet, a hand on Sid’s shoulder to keep himself balanced as the pain of his cut leg muscle made him aware of just how damaged it was. He kept a cool composure, though, refusing to give away anything about his pain.

“And Sid Bamick, who—I’m not done.“ Sid paused and the entire gallery held its breath where they had been about to cheer as they waited for the officer to finish. “Who will be joining the ISF as the newest captain.”

Sid’s eyes widened and he looked from to the officer to Joe in disbelief as he stood. Slowly, a wide grin pulled at his lips and he slung an arm around his friend’s shoulders. He shook Joe’s hand and then Mark’s before they, along with the rest of the recruits who had made it through, were ordered to stand at attention and salute the rest of the gallery, barely able to contain their excitement.

“We did it, Joe.” The grin was back on Sid’s face as soon as they were dismissed and he pulled his friend into a tight embrace. “We’ve got a home, now. And we can make a difference.” Joe just smiled, nodded and returned the embrace.

\--

“I know you two aren’t brothers. Come on, Bamick, don’t look so surprised. Sit down and have a drink.”

Sid slowly sat down in the offered seat across the desk from the recruitment officer. They had spent the evening after the trials drinking together and celebrating and today was for moving the new recruits to the floating base. Sid had been collecting his uniform when the officer had pulled him aside and into his office.

“Here you go.” Sid leaned forward to accept the glass with a thanks before sitting back in his seat again, sipping at it while he listened. “Now. First off, don’t worry about the whole brothers thing. As far as the commanding officers know, you two are still related. And because of one of my rules, you will always be on the same base as each other. Mark will also be with you. I can’t promise you will be captaining their squadron, but you will always be on the same base no matter what.”

Sid rested the glass on his leg. “Why?” he asked simply. “Why do you have a rule like that?”

The officer lifted his own glass and sat back in his chair. “One, because you two work together so well and that’s what we need at the heart of a team.” The officer smiled and emptied his glass. “And two, it’s more efficient to keep ISF members from the same planet in the same place especially in the beginning because they’re more likely to settle in if they have something familiar with them. Now I know that you don’t know Mark beyond the trials, but having the three of you together means you all have a connection to home.”

“So that when things start to get hard, we have at least something in common to be able to talk about and distract ourselves with,” Sid added with a smile before taking another sip of his drink. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you,” the officer stood and walked around his desk. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a recruit good enough to make ISF, let alone three, and it’s not very often we find one who is perfect for a new captain. But the way you analyze the battlefield and your opponent and the way you were helping lead Gibken during his battle against the sugormin and how you managed to get all the recruits in the first trial to work together so that as many of them as possible could make it through was impressive. And there is no doubt that you have what it takes to become one of our greatest captains.”

Sid finished his drink and stood, shaking the offered hand before placing the now empty glass on the desk. “Thank you, sir. Was there anything else?”

“I think I covered everything. I’ll be keeping an eye on you three. Do your planet proud, Bamick. Dismissed.”

\--

Sid lay on his bed with a book in his hands as he listened to the shower of his private bathroom. This new base they had been assigned to had much better facilities for everyone except the general army. That wasn’t anything new, really, except for the fact the soldiers in the special forces were being made to use the same facilities as the general army, which left Sid’s two closest friends looking to him. It wasn’t anything new to have Joe coming into his quarters and using his shower. He’d been doing it for the three years they’d been enlisted.

He looked up from his book as the bathroom door opened and smiled. “Feel better?” He asked, sitting up and closing his book. He placed it on the bedside table, watching his friend drying his long hair with one towel, another sitting low on his hips.

Joe just nodded and wordlessly moved closer to the bed before sitting on the edge of it. “The commander here is strict. Even Mark was having trouble with him.” He gave a sigh and offered the towel in his hands to Sid. “You gonna have a shower?”

Sid shook his head, but took the towel anyway, watching Joe lie back on the bed and close his eyes. He shifted a little closer and ran a hand over the boy’s hair. “Tired?” He asked quietly. He smiled a hint at the slight nod before leaning over him and brushing their lips together. When he felt the pressure being returned, he slowly rolled to straddle his friend and deepened the kiss.

They had gotten closer than either of them had ever thought that they would. All their years traveling together, yet it wasn’t until they enlisted that things began to change. They had been celebrating in Sid’s quarters, just the two of them, and Joe had opted to share his friend’s bed with him. The younger had had trouble sleeping, so he’d just watched Sid sleep instead. Then leaned forward and kissed him for no reason that he could figure out. But reasoning didn’t matter when Sid kissed back and then gave him a wide smile when they finally broke apart and made Joe feel as though his life couldn’t be any more perfect than it was in that moment.

“Sid-senpai…” The name escaped Joe’s lips in a soft moan as the kiss broke and Sid’s mouth shifted to a particularly sensitive spot on the boy’s neck. His hands wandered over Joe’s bare chest and sides before coming to rest on his hips.

“Looking forward to tomorrow?” Sid moved slowly lower, leaving a trail of soft kisses and faint bite marks over his shoulder and then down his chest.

Joe lifted a hand to run it into his friend’s hair. “Nervous,” he murmured before breathing in sharply as Sid’s tongue teased into his navel. He squirmed a little. “Excited… you’ll be there when I leave, right?”

Sid nodded and kissed his stomach softly. “Of course I will,” he promised and began to unwrap the towel from Joe’s waist. “Did you lock the door?” Joe shook his head. “Ah, well. Not like it’d be the first time Mark’s walked in on us.”

The boy frowned and whacked Sid across the head before pushing him away with his foot. “Lock the door or you aren’t getting anything.”

The captain chuckled and leaned forward over Joe, stealing a kiss with a smirk before pulling away. “What if I didn’t want anything?” He drawled as he made his way to the closed door and flicked the lock. “All I wanted to do was get you all excited so you could use all your energy and excitement on your mission.”

Joe sat up and glared at him from the bed. “I hate you.”

“You love me.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I hate you.” Joe continued to frown at the man even as he pushed back to lie down again and kissed. He tried to keep it in place when Sid’s hands began to wander again but it fell with a soft moan when one hand stroked up the inside of his thigh and cupped his crotch. He glared again at the smug smirk on Sid’s lips, though it was only half as effective as before thanks to the fingers stroking him.

“Told ya,” Sid chuckled before stealing a brief kiss. “Love you, Joe.”

“Yeah, yeah… Love you, too.”

\--

“Captain Sid Bamick. I’m here to see Gibken.”

The gormin standing guard at the entrance to the cell gave Sid a once over before stepping aside and opening the door to let him in. The door slammed shut behind him and locked, but Sid didn’t notice. He was already at Joe’s side, kneeling beside him and lifting his head into his lap.

“Joe… Joe, are you okay?” He stroked Joe’s hair and leaned down to press a soft kiss to his forehead and smiled when the boy’s eyes slowly opened.

“Sid… senpai…?” Joe blinked his eyes a few times to unblur his vision then gave a weak smile. “Why are you here…?”

Sid shifted how he was sitting, crossing his legs, and lifted Joe into his lip, hugging him against his chest. “They told me what happened.” He ran a finger along the collar around Joe’s neck. “I’m going to find a way to get this off… I’ll find a way to free you, I promise.”

Joe curled his fingers into the material of Sid’s uniform and pressed his face into his neck, his eyes squeezed shut. The captain softly hushed him, kissing the top and side of his head as he rocked him side to side.

\--

If there was one thing that Sid had to commend the Imperial army on, it was their organizational skills. It wasn’t hard to get permissions to access the database through one of the many consoles around the base and once he was in, he was astounded at just how much information there was. Everything from every person enlisted and where they were based at that very moment to planets with and without bases and plans on when to acquire those without.

He had initially been searching the database for loopholes in the punishment systems and ways to get Joe free, but he’d gotten distracted when looking at Joe’s file by a link to the database of his planet.

Nothing seemed off about it at first. His name popped up a couple times, as the only recruit from the planet to ever make captain straight away, and most of the information was numbers on how many recruits had enlisted over time from that particular base, as well as one that had been decommissioned almost ten years ago. He almost ignored that base, but the name caught his eye.

“Hang on… That’s…” He brought up the file on the decommissioned base and his eyes widened. “N-No… No way. It can’t be.”

He turned off the console and ran as fast as he could down the hall. He barely managed to avoid running into a patrol heading towards the hanger to travel off base, earning himself a growling from the captain that he didn’t entirely catch. He just kept running, took the steps two at a time down to the ground floor and then down to the dungeon.

The gormin saw him coming, but not quick enough to react. Seconds later, they were down on the ground, unconscious, and Sid had unlocked the door into Joe’s cell.

“Joe!” He called skidding to a halt at his friend’s side and helping him up. “Joe, we have to get out of here.”

Joe blinked open weary eyes and stared at him in confusion. “Wha—“

“They lied to us, Joe. The Zangyack lied to us. All those stories about bringing peace amongst the planets, it’s all lies. They’re the ones that destroyed our home, Joe. The people of our city must’ve figured out the Zangyack’s true intentions and rebelled so it got destroyed and they moved the military base to the other largest city on the other side of the planet.”

Joe’s eyes widened and suddenly, he felt wide awake. He got to his feet and looked around. “We have to get out of here.”

Sid nodded and grabbed Joe’s hand, almost dragging him out of the cell. He knew the base like the back of his hand, and he was almost glad that they’d been moved to a ground base rather than a floating island like when they had first enlisted. Within minutes, they were out of the underground and on the surface of the planet, but the alarm had already been raised. They kept hidden in the undergrowth surrounding a supply drop-off area, pressed close to each others side.

Joe didn’t want to listen to Sid’s words when he spoke. Didn’t want to believe that he was serious. He grabbed the captain’s hand and gave it a tight squeeze, silently begging him not to leave.

“I love you, Joe,” Sid murmured, squeezing the hand back. “Stay alive and we’ll see each other again. I promise.” He leaned in a little, almost close enough to kiss, before he was gone, ripping his hand out of Joe’s grip and bolting out of the cover and straight into light and shouts. Joe was frozen for a moment, listening to the screams of his mentor, his lover, his best friend, before he finally did the only thing he could do.

He ran.


End file.
